Acetylene-gas generator.



H. M. WISE.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE ls. 191s.

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Patented Feb. 13

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' carbid supply; and

n arianne PATENT @WWE HARRY M. WISE, OF RICHMOND, "VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO 'WISE ACETYLENE GAS MACHINE COMPANY, INCORPORATED.

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Application filed J'une'15, 1916. Serial No. 103,767.

To all/whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY M. WISE, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene- Gras Generators; and I do declare the-following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apper-l tains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in acetylene gas generators` rlhe main object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this character having means for indicating to the householder or an attendant that 'the carbid needs replenishing and also for 4.supplying additional carbid to generate sufficient gas to last until the carbid holder of the generator'l can be refilled.

Another object is to provide improved automatically operated mechanism for controlling the indicating and auxiliary carbid supply device.

`With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the inventionresides in the Acornbination 'and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 represents a central vertical section of a gas generator equipped with this invention with the valve of the carbid holder shown closed;

F ig. 2 is a central vertical section showing the carbidreceptacle with the parts in position for discharging carbid into the generator; Y

Fig. 3 is a similar view, a portion of the gas bell being shown in section and the car' bid holder shown in its lowered position ready for opening the valve'oi:I the auxiliary Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the carbid receptacle with parts shown in section.

In the embodiment illustrated, a vtank 1 is shown having the usual service pipe 2 and with its bottom shown inclined and provided 'at its lower end with a discharge cock Specication of Letters Eatent.

Patented-Feb. 13, 1917,

entering the seal containing chamber. This bell 5 is provided in its top with a vent valve 7 which is designed to permit the entrance of air when the `bell is lifted from the generator to prevent its being held by suction against removal.

Mounted in the upper portion of the tank l is an annular supporting ring 8, the same being provided with arms 9 secured to the walls of said tank, said ring being designed as a support for a carbid receptacle or hopper 10 which is here shown provided with an annular flange 11 designed to rest on the Harige 8 and be supported thereby, said re,

ceptacle 10 being shown cylindrical in form with an inverted truncated cone-shaped bot# tom 12 having a discharge opening 13 at its lower end which is controlled by a valve 14 which is here shown semi-globular in form to fit the opening in said hopper. A guard 16 depends from the hopper 12 around the opening therein and is designed to prevent the valve 14 from being clogged should water of condensation drip or iiow down the sides of the hopper, which if allowed to enter and mingle with the carbid, Would cause it to disintegrate and possibly clog the opening and prevent the valve from properly seating.

A stem 17 is fixed Ito the valve 14 and projects upwardly through a sleeve 18 carried by the top 19 of the carbid receptacle 10 and on the lower end of which is mounted an inverted cup-shaped hood 2O which surrounds and protects an inverted cupshaped retarding member 21 carried by the valve stem17. This member 21 has a collar 22 which loosely encircles the valve stem 17 and is held against downward movement by a pin 23 which extends transversely through thevstem as is shown clearly in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of thewdrawings, and limits the downward movement of said member 21, permitting it however, to move upwardly -onithe stem between the pin and the lower' end of the sleeve 18 which projects through the upper end of the hood 20. This member 21 is designed for retarding the discharge of the carbid through the opening 13 in the bottom of the hopper when the valve 14 is opened, as shown in Fig. 2.

-The valve stem 17 projects upwardly into the bell 5 and is provided with a head -17 against which the top of the bell 5 is designed to abut when lowered for forcing the valve stem downwardly and thereby opening the valve 14 which occurs when the gas pressure in -the tank is lowered sufliciently to permit the bell to descend and thereby cause lits engagement with said valve stem. It

and is designed to be engaged by the furcashown similar in constructionv to the recepta-- tions v25 at one end of a lever 26 which is fulcrumed intermediately of its ends on an upstanding bracket 27 carried by the "hopvper top 1 9. A weight 28 is adjustably mounted on the other end of the lever 26 for closing the valve 14 when the bell rises.

An auxiliary carbid container 30 is mounted in the upper end of the hopper 10 and is cle 10, although it need not necessarily be so formed. This container 30 depends from the top 19 of the receptacle 10 and has a hopper-shaped bottom 31 provided with an outlet opening 32 normally closed by a valve 33 similar in construction to the valve 14 and which has a stem 34 secured theretoI and -rising through a sleeve 35 carried by the hopper top 19 and which is considerably larger in diameter than said stem to permit the lateral movement of the stem relative to the sleeve for a purpose to be described. The stem 34 is arranged in the path of an arm 38 which extends laterally from the lever 26 and is designed for moving said stem for a purpose now to be described. This stem 34 is provided at its upper end ywith a downturned hook 36, the bill 37 of which extends through a longitudinally extending slot 39 in the lever 26 which permits said lever to move freely a'predetermined distance without aiecting said valve stem. This'stem 34 is' also provided intermediately of its ends with a laterally extending shoulder 40 which forms a stop for enga 'ng the upper end of the sleeve 35 for hol in the valve 33 in closed position. as is s own clearly in Fig. 2, it being obvious that when this stem is moved laterally a distance suiii. cient to disengage the shoulder from said sleeve that the valve 33 will drop b gravity and thereby permit the contents o the container 30 to be discharged and which is occasioned by the descent of the bell 5 into abnormal i. lowered position. This occurs when all ofthe carbid iniie container 10 has been discharged and a consumption of gas has reduced the pressure in the tank 1 so as to permit this lowering of the bell.

The container 30 is designed to hold in reserve a suiicient quantity of carbid which when discharged into the tank will generate enough gas to prevent the extinguishing of the hghts after the carbid in the hopper 10 has all been consumed, said container 30 holding about enough carbid to supply suiiicient gas to last about two days under ordinary consumption. v

A filling opening 41 is provided in the top 19 of the container 10 and overlaps the upper end of the container 30 so that when carbid is fed to the receptacle 10, the container 3() will also be supplied. This opening 41 is provided with a suitable closure and access is obtained thereto by removing the bell 5 which may be readily accomplished after the valve 7 has been opened to relieve the suction of the bell.

ln the use of this apparatus with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1, the withdrawalof gas through the service pipe 2 will reduce the pressure in the tank 1 and cause the bell 5 to lower by gravity,'thereby engaging the top thereof with the head 17 of the valve stem 17 and thus open the valve 14 a sufficient distance to permit the carbid to pass out of the receptacle 10 through the opening 13 and drop into the water in the tank 1. 'immediately' sufficient gas will be generated within said tank to raise the bell 5" and lift it out of engagement with the valve stem head 17. The stem 17 carrying the valve 14 will then be raised by the counterbalancing weight 28 lon the lever 26 and thus close the valve as shown in Fig. 1 and cut off the carbid. This operation will be repeated continuously until all of the carbid contained in the receptacle 10 has been 'discharged and the continued consumption of' gas will cause the bell 5 to drop lower and lower, thereby lowering the lever 26 by the engagement of the pin 24 with the furcations'thereof and when this lever reaches the position shown in' Fig. 3, the arm 38 thereof coming incontact with the hook 36 of the valve stem 34, will shift said s tem laterally a suiiicient distance to disengage the shoulderv 40 from the upper end of the sleeve 35, and immediately the valve 33 will drop by gravity, being limited in its downward movement by the engagement of the hook .36 with said lever. yThis opening of the valve 33 will permitthe reserve carbid held in the container 30 to be discharged into the receptacle 10 and to pass down toward the discharge opening 13 through which it will pass in limited quantities controlled by the position of the retai-ding member 21 adjacent the contracted walls around the opening 13, as is shown in l `ig. 3. After the carbid has been discharged from the container 30 into the rcceptacle l() and a part passes out into the tank 1, enough gas will be generated to raise the bell a distance sullicient to close the valve l-l and this raising and lowering of the valve will proceed as above until all of the reserve carbid has been consumed, and in the meantime it is presumedthat the main hopper 10 together with the container El() will have been relilled, otherwise the lights will be extinguished onfthe. exhaustion of the reserve carbid.

'lhis device operates as an indicator that thc carbid in the receptacle 10 has been exhausted` owing to the 'l'act that when said exhaust occurs, the lowering of the gas pressure in the tank 1 will callse a dimming of the lights which are. supplied from this generator, and immediately the carbid in the reserve container 30 is fed to the tank, the lights will again flare up, which will notify the attendant or householder that the reserve carbid has been discharged, and he will then have ample time t0 refill the apparatus before the gas becomes exhausted and thereby cuts off the lights.

From the above it will be observed that owing to the slot connection of the lever Q6 with the valve stem 34 that the ordinary rise and fall of the bell 5 which is occasioned by the consumption of gas and the supply of 'carbid from the receptacle 10, the valve 33 will remain unaifected and that it will only be opened by an abnormal descent of the bell5 and .this abnormal descent will operate to release the stem 34 and open the valve 33 only after the main mass of carbid contained in the receptacle 10 has been discharged.

It is to be noted that in the normal operation of the 'machine the gas bell will operate the valve stem 17 only to a limited extent which will not be suliieient to affect the position of the valve of the reserve supply in the hopper 30 but when the supply in the main hopper is exhausted and the valve is pushed downwardly to a reater extent by the gas bell the lever 26 w1l1 be actuated sufficiently to move the shoulder 40 off of the tube 35 and thus permit the valve of the reserve hopper to drop to its open position in which ment by said bell on the lowering thereof,

a weighted lever for lifting'said stem to close said valve, said lever having a longitudinally extending slot therein, and an arm projecting laterally therefrom, an. auxiliary carbid container arranged to discharge into said holder having a valve for controlling the discharge thereof, a stem carried by said valve extending loosely through the slot in said lever, copcrating means on said stem and holder for retaining said valve normally in closed position, said lever arm being adapted to engage said stem on the abnormal lowering of said bell and thereby disengage said stem from said holder to release the valve, and means for limiting the opening movement of said valve.

2. In an acetylene gas generator, the combination of a, tank, a gas bell vertically movable relatively thereto, a carbid holder arranged to discharge into said tank, a valve controlling the discharge of said holder having a stem positioned for engagement by said bell on the lowering thereof, a weighted lever for lifting said stem to close said valve, `an auxiliary carbid container arranged to discharge into said holder and having a valve. for controlling the discharge therefrom, a stem carried by said valve and extending upwardly adjacent said lever, a sleeve surrounding said stem and of larger diameter than said stem, a stop on said stem positioned to engage the upper end of the sleeve to hold the valve closed, means on said lever for engaging and laterally moving the valve stem of the auxiliary container valve to disengage said stop from said sleeve on the abnormal lowering of the bell', whereby the valve is opened, and means for limiting the opening movement of the valve.

cIn testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. HARRY M. WISE. Witnesses CHARLES E. STANTON, JAMES C. PAGE. 

